For the men in my life...

McCalls's 4244

Having spent a considerable amount of time on making gifts for Christmas this year I decided that the men in my life needed to be taken care of as well. So...my husband and my daughter's boyfriend were recipients of flannel pajama bottoms.


On my first trip to Joann’s I was sadly disappointed for they did not have any “man flannel” and I was then relegated to choosing something from the snuggle-flannel line. Needless to say this did not include anything really meant for a man. The closest I could come to anything a guy would wear was a “flame” flannel. I thought it was kind of cool and being my daughter's boyfriend races snow machines I thought it would go along with his need for speed.

I whipped those up in no time but they just didn’t do it for me. I wanted “man flannel” so on my next trip to Joann’s I made a bee-line to the flannel shirting section and this time they had an over abundance of it. I quickly picked out a lovely hunter green plaid for my husband and a red/white/green plaid for my daughter’s boyfriend.

It took me a little longer to complete these than the flame bottoms being as I took the time to match the plaids. I think they turned out well and I will definitely use this pattern again. I did modify the pattern’s casing for the waistband. I tried making them the way the directions suggested but it makes the pattern more difficult than need be. Instead I converted the waistband to fit 1” elastic and I added buttonholes on each side of the center front seam and ran a drawstring through it.

Here are some pics along with my review.

Didn't do too bad on the plaid matching.

Pattern Review

PR: M4244

Pattern Description: Men’s Robe, belt, tops, pants and shorts I made the pajama bottoms

Fabric Used: Flannel

Pattern Size: (Small, Medium, Large) I made both a medium and a large.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I did not care for the directions in regards to the making of the casing for the waistband. I totally scratched the pattern directions and created a simple casing to hold 1” elastic. Prior to sewing the casing down I put a buttonhole on each side of the center front seam to run a waistband drawstring through. Once the casing was sewed I ran the elastic through having left an opening in the back of the casing then stitched the elastic together and closed the casing. I then ran my purchased drawstring twill tape through the casing using the buttonholes.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened both the medium and large by 2 inches.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: These pajama bottoms went together quickly even with matching plaids. I would recommend the pattern with the waistband modification.

Happy Sewing!!!

A Christmas Present for Lola

Lola...L-O-L-A...Lola

Who exactly is Lola?

Well...Lola is our Beagle-Lab mix that we adopted eight years ago.  I work for a local highway department and on a very cold January morning one of our drivers came across Lola's mother in a snowbank. Someone had just dropped her off and left her there in the bank to fend for herself.  Being the caring person that she is, the driver brought the dog back to the highway department to warm up and give her some food.  To make a long story short Lola's mother (Hilda) was found to be pregnant and she gave birth to a litter of ten puppies right there at the highway department.

Everyone took their turn at caring for the puppies until they got to the stage where they could be adopted out.  This is where my daughter comes in for she had fallen in love with these little balls of fur and energy; in particular she had fallen for Lola.  Slowly, each and every puppy found a loving and caring home with Lola being the last.  She had worked her way into our hearts and our home and  we are so glad she came to live with us and are thankfull all the other puppies were adopted out as well.

So...this Christmas...we wanted to give Lola a new, comfy spot to lay her head down after a day of chasing squirrels and barking at the deer wandering our woods out back.

McCall's M5410

I didn't like the fact the bed didn't have a removable liner so I used some left over denim and an upholstery zipper and whipped one up to fit inside the large dog bed.

This pattern is a "no sew" project but I modified the pattern by sewing part way around the bed prior to stuffing. On the edges that I left open I also stitched along the remainder of the bed to give a point to cut to for the ties.

Denim bed placed inside fleece.

Tying the knots around the bed.

Plaid Top

Solid Bottom

Lola enjoying her new bed!

Pattern Review

PR: M5410

Pattern Description: Pet Beds

Fabric Used: Fleece

Pattern Size: (S-M-L)  I made a large bed for Lola.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This pattern is a no sew pattern but knowing that I would want to wash this pet bed at some point I sewed it prior to tying the knots. Also they have you directly stuffing into the fleece which I did not like either so I made an inner liner out of some left over jean fabric and stuffed that with the stuffing and then stuffed the jean liner into the fleece bed.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I sewed the bed together about three quarters the way around and left a quarter open. I placed the stuffed denim liner into the fleece; I then tied the knots closing the bed up around the denim liner.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: I think this is a great project for both the sewer and non-sewer. Pretty simple and quick!

Happy Sewing!!!

Mail Call…Part Duex

Oh my goodness…ask and you shall receive. In today’s mail is the elusive Vogue pattern #8369. WOW...the lady at Pattern Mania is fast and the item was so nicely package in a cellophane sleeve and shipping envelope. The UPS man was here as well with my Boucle fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics. I am thrilled to death for now I have some of the components and can now start making the jacket. At the very least get a start on adjusting the pattern and cutting and sewing a muslin mock-up. There are still a few other items I require like the lining and some good sewing thread but that is for another day.

TTFN... Happy Sewing !!!

Mail Call…via Santa Claus aka DD

In my ongoing lust for a Chanel jacket I am slowly acquiring the resources and references that one needs to construct a jacket of this nature. As in my previous post Mail Call...Another Sewing Goodie I have already acquired "Great Sewn Clothes" from Threads Magazine in which there is a small section on the construction process. My latest acquisition, via Santa Claus aka my daughter, is "Couture Sewing Techniques" by Claire B. Shaeffer. This is truly a fabulous and informative book and one of my favorite gifts to have received for Christmas.

Now I am waiting for that elusive Vogue pattern 8369. The Vogue website still offers this out-of-print pattern but not in the size I need and at a price that is reasonable. While clicking around the other night I was lucky enough to come across a shop on Etsy called Pattern Mania and low and behold she had one pattern and in my size and at a great price! So I am anxiously waiting for this pattern to make an appearance for then I can begin my jacket and participate in the Go Chanel or Go Home blog.

Happy Sewing!!!

Wandering Aimlessly....

Christmas has come and gone and the New Year has begun. Where have I been? Being as I haven’t posted in over a month, you could say I’ve been wandering aimlessly in the wilderness of what I call my life. Which…isn’t a bad thing.

As always Christmas brings with it the hopelessness of frantically trying to complete each and every project that was planned for presents. This year was no exception with my working right up to two days before Christmas. YIKES. I tell myself each year that I am not going to do this to myself…and each year; the inevitable scrambling to get it all done.

Note to myself: Do not make any more resolutions to get presents done in a timely fashion…it just isn’t happening so why stress yourself out trying to make it happen.

I am satisfied with what I did accomplish and will start posting the projects that were completed after that last DD Christmas Quickie.

As to my lack of posting…I haven’t made anything so why post! I guess that is a good enough excuse. Yes…yes…that has to be it.

Seriously, I just haven’t had the time and kind of stepped off the sewing machine carousel for a month, plus the fact I had to tear down the room for my daughter visiting over the holidays and just the thought of dragging everything back out and resetting the room up was enough to stop me in my tracks. I finally mustered up enough ambition to bring the table and machines back upstairs this past weekend so there is some progress! Maybe I should blame my lack of enthusiasm on the winter and this crappy weather we have been having. Sounds like a plan…

Any whooo….I am anxiously awaiting some boucle fabric I purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics along with an out-of-print pattern from Pattern Mania on Etsy. Maybe once those items get here the creative juices will begin to flow anew. In the mean time I think I will just sit here on the couch, watching the birds, squirrels, turkeys and deer and ponder the meaning of life. Mmmm...that isn't working for me...I think I will go sew.

Happy Sewing!!!

Another Christmas Quickie...

Did the title peak your interest? Alas it is not what you may be thinking…

Now that I have shamelessly drawn you in…I am working diligently to get all my Christmas sewing projects done before Christmas Eve is upon us; which is only next Thursday!!! Can you believe the holiday is almost here??? Yikes.

I just finished up another gift for my daughter. It is a gift that you can quickly put together with a small amount of materials. My daughter has a body pillow she purchased in Target last year and no longer cares for the cover she purchased with it so I decided I’d make her a new one for Christmas. Prior to heading to Joann’s I thought maybe a plaid flannel fabric…inspiration was lacking when I walked into the store.

Once there I realized I picked the right day to head into Joann’s (Joann.com) for they were having their fleece on sale for $ 2.99/yard. What a bargain and I quickly went about trying to find the perfect fabric for her cover. Because she is into “Western” type gear and decorations I looked for similar designs in the fabric and quickly found the perfect fabric for her. A beautiful royal blue fleece with cowboy boots and horseshoes on it…what luck…literally…horseshoes and luck go hand in hand!!!

To make the pillow cover I purchased an 18 inch zipper, thread and 1 ¼ yds. of 56-60” wide fleece. I cut two rectangles from the fleece that were 21 inches by 55 inches; ½ inch seams are included in those figures.

• Serge one 21 inch edge on each rectangle just skimming the edge and not trimming any fabric off

• Take these serged 21 inch edges of fabric, right sides together, stitch as follows:

• ½ inch seam - start with regular stitching for 1 ½ inches, back tack and then baste where the zipper will be, then back tack at 1 ½ inches and finish with regular stitching. Adjust these measurements based upon your pillow size and zipper.

• Press open and install zipper as you usually would. I use wonder tape to baste the zipper down and then I open out the seams and sew the zipper tabs down on each side of the pressed center seam.

• I then flipped to the right side and top-stitched around the zipper at top, sides and bottom.

• Very carefully remove your basting stitches and open your zipper.

• With rights sides together, sew both long edges and finally the last short edge. I stitched with my conventional machine first and then went back and serged the edges without trimming any fabric. I just skimmed the edges once again.

• Turn right sides out and your are done and now have a wonderful Christmas Quickie pillow cover…Enjoy :-D

Happy Holidays and Happy Sewing…

My Daughter Is Making Out Like A Bandit...

I am truly enjoying my time making gifts for the holidays. Based upon my previous posts, my daughter is making out like a bandit this week! I have just completed another gift for her for Christmas.

She has always been one who likes special pj’s for Christmas Eve so this year I thought we would continue the tradition but make her some instead. Here is the camisole and bottoms that I made for her yesterday. They came out so cute and were very easy to construct from McCall’s 5248.

Happy Holidays and Happy Sewing!!!

Review Follows for M5248:

PR: 5248

Pattern Description: Misses’ Robe, Belt, Top, Nightgown, Shorts and Pants. I made the camisole top and the full length bottoms.

Fabric Used: Cotton Flannel

Pattern Size: Y (XSml, Sml, Med) I cut a medium

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Looked them over but really didn’t use them

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The pattern was easy to construct, no major difficulties.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made this pattern for my daughter so I adjusted it to fit for her. I corrected the bust point to go along with her measurements and made adjustments for waist and hip differences. I shortened the top 1 inch and added the same lace used at the bust area for trim around the bottom of the camisole. I finished it off with a small bow made from double-faced satin ribbon. On the pj bottoms I lengthened the pants 1 ½ inches and took 2 ½ inches off of the top of the pants due to her liking a lower rise on her pj bottoms. I changed the casing and drawstring as well. For the drawstring I stitched the center front seam and then put a buttonhole on each side of the seam line within the casing area to draw the string through. My daughter prefers to not have her bottoms fall down like they do with just a drawstring so I put 3/4 inch elastic in the casing then stitched it closed and threaded the drawstring in afterwards.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes. This is a fairly easy pattern to sew.

Conclusion: I like how these pjs came out and will more than likely make them again for my daughter as well as myself.